From Pine View Farm

December, 2017 archive

Still Rising Again after All These Years 0

Tony Norman suggests that refusal of “Judge” Roy Moore to concede defeat in the Alabama Senatorial race is a fitting analogy to the Southern myth of the “Lost Cause.” A snippet:

Long after Roy Moore is dead and buried, he knows “serious” academic papers will be written about how he was cheated out of votes by a conspiracy of liberals and establishment Republicans. Seventy-five years from now, Roy Moore will be extolled as the embodiment of a Southern hero and noble jurist too upstanding to be allowed to enter the halls of the U.S. Senate.

With the passage of time and enough lies, even allegations that he tried to initiate romances with children will be brushed off by sympathetic historians as scurrilous propaganda the same way the atrocities of the antebellum aristocracy are considered lies spread by liberal historians. They’ll say he took countless lie detector tests and passed.

One more time, when next you hear someone bemoan the “Lost Cause,” ask him or her to explain precisely just what was the cause that was lost.

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The Singularity 0

Robert Reich argues that Donald Trump is like no other president. A snippet:

Earlier this month, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch stood on the White House lawn, opining that Donald Trump’s presidency could be “the greatest presidency that we’ve seen, not only in generations, but maybe ever.”

I beg to differ.

America has had its share of crooks (Warren G. Harding, Richard Nixon), bigots (Andrew Jackson, James Buchanan) and incompetents (Andrew Johnson, George W. Bush). But never before Donald Trump have we had a president who combined all of these nefarious qualities.

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The Voter Fraud Fraud 2

Elie Mystal gets to the nub of the Republican gut-out-the-vote movement:

Yet black people in this country regularly vote en masse for the Democrat at levels that would make warlords sheepish. There are lots of white people who look at that and assume something is fishy. All the voter fraud commissions you read about are organized around the twin conceits that black people can’t possibly hate the Republican party this much, and if they do there can’t possibly be enough of us to swing an election.

Of course, up here in “evidence based” land, the black vote is the result of the Republican party’s ongoing strategy of ignoring black people and, latterly, being expressly racist towards black people in hopes of energizing racist white voters.

Much more at the link.

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Art of the Con, Meet Ryan’s Derp 0

Frame One:  Donald Trump says,

Via Job’s Anger.

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Dr. Dolittle 0

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QOTD 0

Herbert Bayard Swope:

The first duty of a newspaper is to be accurate. If it be accurate, it follows that it is fair.

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Not Neutrality 0

Caption:  Cutting the Cord.  Image: Picture of hand cutting leash labeled

Via Northjersey.com, where there’s an article you should read at the link.

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“The Conscience of a Conservative” 0

At AL.com, Clete Wetli argues that that phrase is an oxymoron. Here’s a bit; follow the link for the whole piece.

On paper, modern conservatism sounds fairly reasonable; but in practice it’s become the anathema of American values. Mr. Meredith (who wrote as a conservative about the conscience of conservatives in a Trumpled time–ed.) bemoans the GOP’s endorsement of “vile” candidates, like Roy Moore, and acts as if these reprehensible political ideologues just stumbled haphazardly into the Republican fold. Unfortunately, Mr. Meredith, the Republican platform is ablaze with a self-righteous fire of unabashed entitlement and has become the reckless flame to which these arrogant moths are attracted.

It is no accident that it has become the safe harbor for white supremacists and religious zealots.

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Misdirection Play, Oligarchical Predation Dept. 0

Thom discusses the sleight-of-underhand political strategy of the proponents of oligarchy.

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Tales of the Trumpling: Snapshots of Trickle-Down Trumpery 0

Our Trumpled youth speak out.

The girl filmed herself making derogatory comments about the black community. The video has more 3 million views on Twitter since it was first posted over the weekend.

“Black people are trash; they need to die,” she said.

The racist, hate-filled rant has gone viral on social media, of two Pleasant Grove High students — one is seen in the background laughing at her friend’s racist remarks.

The girl in the video went on to say: “When the police were killing all those black people I was so happy.”

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Still Rising Again after All These Years 0

Charles Finn eviscerates the rationalizations of the secesh and their sycophants in a searing screed.

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The Year in Rebuke 0

Title:  The Year in Review.  Image:  Dumpster fire.

Via Juanita Jean.

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

Celebrate Christmas politely.

Logan Trammell’s family told a Birmingham news station he was driving away from his parents home around 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 24 in one of his father’s vehicles. Unaware Logan was borrowing his truck and believing someone was stealing it, the father shot at the truck. After it stopped, he realized he had mistakenly shot and killed his own son, the family told WIAT.

Afterthought:

Shoot first, ask questions later. Always a good policy.

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QOTD 0

Ted Danson, as Dr. John Becker:

Just because you’re having a good day, doesn’t mean you can take it out on me.

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Facebook Frolics 0

Food-borne frolics.

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Misdirection Play, Gunning for the Con Dept. 0

Republiican Elephant, holing bags labeled

Click for the original image.

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Scandal’s Children 0

Andrés Miguel Rondón, a Venezuelan now living in Madrid, sees parallels between Donald Trump and the late Hugo Chavez and offers advice on understanding Trump and the Trumpettes:

If you’re among the majority of Americans who oppose Trump, you can’t understand why. And it’s making you furious. I saw the same thing happen in my native Venezuela with the late Hugo Chávez, who ruled as precisely the sort of faux-populist strongman that Trump now loves to praise. Chávez’s political career (which only ended with his untimely death) seemed not only immune to scandal, but indeed to profit directly from it. Why? Because scandal is no threat to populism. Scandal sustains populism.

(snip)

Normal politicians collapse in the face of scandal because the scandals show them dozing on the job or falling back on their promises. . . .

However, like all populists, Trump offers a much different deal — “Vote for me: I will destroy your enemies. They are the reason you are not rich/have less rights/America is not great anymore.” Scandal is the populist’s natural element for the same reason that demolishing buildings makes more noise than constructing them. His supporters didn’t vote for silence. They voted for a bang.

Follow the link for the rest.

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Demon Spewn 0

Mike discusses the latest antics of Jim Bakker, pretend Christian. (Warning: language.)

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A Picture Is Worth 0

Couple watching TV news displaying graphic:

Here’s an excerpt from a short article by Josh Marshall that seems related . . .

This point is critical to remember. Trump’s flouting of democratic norms during the campaign was a core element, perhaps the core element, of his appeal. Support for Trump certainly wasn’t in spite of this. Nor was it incidental. We focus on Trump’s antics. They remain erratic and unbridled. But equally important, probably more important, is the absence of any overriding respect for the rule of law or democratic norms among his supporters. Functionally that means the entire Republican party, even if individual Republican officeholders may express a muted displeasure.

. . . while Solomon Jones list the year’s biggest moments in racism.

Image via Job’s Anger.

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A Matter of Interpretation 0

Santa Claus stands in his front door as man in suit says,

Click for the original image.

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